WGAS

The White Rock volunteers and students are exploring the oral history archives in West Glamorgan Archives Service, Swansea University Miners Library, and Swansea University Richard Burton Archives.

The oral histories are sketchily catalogued. The researchers are updating the catalogues and making snippets of the histories available to the Digital Trails app. Many thanks to all the archives for their permission.

These summaries of West Glamorgan Archives Service recordings were made by Tudor and Janet Price (TJP), and Bleddyn Penny (BP).

Upbringing in Hafod in 1920s -discussion of father’s work with horses.

Work in copperworks 1930s onwards – explanation of processes such as quenching.

Discussion of what Copper worker used to wear:
No protective clothing, just sacks soaked with water and flannel shirts to absorb the sweat.

Remembers accidents as being fairly common at the copper works and remembers several colleagues being killed.

TH13 – Grenfell, W.H. (BP)

Born in 1904.

Went to work as a clerk at the Morfa Copper Works in July 1918 (aged 14)

Description of his daily duties as a junior clerk: mainly filing etc.

Description of the area at the time:
Lots of smoke and sulfur fumes. When asked whether he used to cough a lot, he replied: “fumes catch you in the throat, didn’t usually take much notice of it.”

Discussion of the strikes from 1918-1924: Affected the supply of coal to the copper works.

However, industrial relations at the Copper Works were described as good:
Recalls the manager being frequently on site and knowing all the workers by name.

TH25 – David John Dixon and Iorwerth Thomas (BP)

Born 1892 and 1904.

Description of his father who worked at the Morfa Copper Works:
Remembers his father coming home covered in sweat.
He worked constantly over the heat so that he would frequently come home with and his “face was burnt red.”
His father worked at the Morfa Works for 52 years and when he left in 1934 he was given £5

Discussion of camaraderie/working culture at the Morfa Works:
Everyone was known by nicknames, such as Jack ‘Lava bread’ and Johnny ‘Big Orange’.
You “never knew some people’s real names.”

Interesting story about younger workers getting up to mischief at the plant:
Younger boys were sent by the older workers to the pub at lunch time to bring beer back for the copper workers.
They would take tea cans with them and fill them up with beer at the local pub.
However, boys were known to swig from the workers’ beers on their way back to the Works and top them up with tap water so that the workers’ would not notice their beer had gone.
This practice was eventually found out and workers took to getting their own beer.